In the Kitchen With Mattie

Today was very hot and humid and I wasn’t really looking forward to standing over the stove in this heat to make a dinner. I had a package of thin cut round steaks and my pressure cooker to help cut down on the heat generated by having the stove going for too long. As I rummaged through the cabinets and refridgerator to see what else I had on hand I came up with this recipe. It is not a classic swiss steak but the version I came up with based on what I had available without a trip to the store, I have to say that hubby absolutely LOVED it and has requested that I keep it in our meal rotations, it did indeed come out very good, the sauce was especially tasty.

                                                   Matties Swiss Steak

2 pounds round steak, trimmed of all fat and cut into pieces approximately 4 by 4 inches

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional, I had some I needed to use up)

1 can Fire Roasted tomatoes, 14 ounce, I used Hunts brand

1 cup unsalted beef broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

a few carrots cut into julienne

1 clove garlic (more if you want)

2-4 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Trim the meat of all visible fat.  Mix salt and pepper with flour and place on plate. Take one piece of meat and place it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound it with a mallet as thin as possible, place the pounded meat in the flour and coat it, shake off the excess flour and place the meat on a rack to dry a little. Do the same with all the pieces and when all done heat the pressure cooker and put the oil in it, brown the meat one or two pieces at a time until they are nicely browned, be careful not to burn them. As the meat is browned remove it to a plate and let it rest until it is all browned. When the meat is all browned add more oil to the pan if needed, then add the diced onion and the garlic and celery, saute until it wilts a little then add the wine and let it come to a boil and reduce the wine a little, add the beef broth and the tomatoes and oregano, bring back up to a boil. When it is boiling nestle the meat in the sauce and close the top of the pressure cooker, bring the cooker to low pressure and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick release, open the lid and remove the meat to a platter, sprinkle with the parsley, bring the rest of the contents to a rapid boil and add the carrots, boil for 5 minutes so the sauce reduces a little and the carrots remain a little crisp, taste and adjust the seasonings adding more smoked sea salt if needed. You can also do this in a regular pan on the stove top, follow the directions and then cook it for about an hour on a low flame. The meat was tender but held together and the sauce was absolutely delicious. I think the sauce came out so well because of the addition of the smoked sea salt, which I have to admit I grabbed off the shelf by mistake and was worried about……….no need to worry, the ever so slight smokey taste it added to the sauce was great, I will always use it in this dish, it added a new dimension to it for sure.

The spaetzle were sauteed in butter, after they came to a boil and rise to the top of the pot you have boiled them in remove them and put them in the saute pan, I used the recipe you will find on another of my posts, they made a great side with the meat and sauce.